Category: Imagination Technology

On June 10th I attended Stories In Action hosted by SparkNow at the Museum Of London – a bit of a hidden gem tucked away on London Wall. I heard about the event via The Gurteen Knowledge Letter one of the first newsletters I ever signed up to. David Gurteen is a freelance Knowledge Manger and coach, ex International Czar for Lotus in the 1980s, founder of the Gurteen Knowledge Community and creator of the Knowledge Cafe. He is passionate about the place of conversation in the workplace and it’s effect and impact on knowledge, how it is used and interpreted and what becomes of it so it was no surprise to see the SparkNow event listed on his newsletter.

You might guess from reading my blog that I am a bit of a storyteller. It is also a very important element of the coaching and mentoring work I do. I find that when people are guided into the story telling space; boundaries disappear, true heart desires emerge and unique creativity is displayed as we all join the dots in different ways. The Sparknow pitch drew me in ‘Stories aren’t just for kids. They have a powerful role to play in organisations as a source of insight, as a vehicle for sharing knowledge, as a way of generating energy and enthusiasm, as a means of engagement’ and their invitation sealed my fate – ‘We’d love you to participate in something that will be part experience, part challenge, part exploration, part instruction – whatever we make of it together‘. This was a ticketed event but with an option to donate the decision to attend was an easy one to make.

It is no small challenge to bring together a disparate group of people to engage and explore but the choice to hold the event at the Museum Of London was inspired. The Museum had engaged Sparknow to work with Caroline MacDonald and Georgina Young of the curation staff, to develop a new content creation framework. This case study was the thread that joined all the strands of this presentation together. I loved the registration panel; no need for a desk or staff you just looked for your name on the brown paper grid on the wall, ticked that you were present and wrote up your own badge. Brown paper was the order of the day from the origami orientation booklets to table clothes that begged to be covered in questions, quips, comments and wisecracks. No time was lost getting the eighty or so participants conversing with a North, South, East & West ice breaker and this engagement was further enhanced by the creation of six different streams of organisational story telling of thirty minutes each. We could pick to attend three out of the six streams on offer. It is amazing how it concentrates the mind to choose. All of the pitches were intriguing but in the end I opted for Philip Gibson‘s Quality of Mind, Iain Christie’sListening Stories Out Of People and Fiona Hiscock’sWeaving Patterns From Hidden Threads.

Quality Of Mind: ‘People learn by thinking for themselves’ ~ Philip Gibson. A fascinating presentation on the use of stories to heighten awareness and change behaviours at a global manufacturer. People become inured and immune in some way to pronoucements from on high not matter how carefully extolled. By collating stories from across the business anonymous scenarios could be created for dissemination. Framing up these scenarios around discussion of open ended questions led to quality behaviours becoming more integrated and embodied.

Listening Stories Out Of People: Iain Christie is a curious combination of Barrister, mediator and actor. I couldn’t think of anyone better to put together this oral history project of the The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, one of the four inns of court which have existed since the 14th Century. Hallowed ground indeed and it looks like the oral histories may be wrapped into into that hallowed space as the powers that be have had a change of heart about making these stories public; and that of course is a story in itself. The snippets we heard were an insight into history and hearts; The Inner Temple may be trying to hide it’s feet of clay but what a shame to deny the World the human, humorous hearts that we heard on tape.

Weaving Patterns From Hidden Threads: I love a bit of technology me and technology that collects and patternises (is that a real word?) stories I found fundamentally thrilling. Ancedotes are the life blood of our lives, easy to relate and share; the grumpy bus driver, the helpful teenager who pushes your car out of the traffic, the next door neighbour who always needs that cup of sugar just when you are having visitors, the friendly doctor who makes whatever you were worried about not so terrifying. SenseMaker(R), an app used to design story capture campaigns and track experience, demonstrates the powerful patterns that emerge from pulling stories together around a particular theme. Understanding patterns is a first step to directing change; is the grumpy bus driver just one individual or is it an endemic problem, is the helpful teenager a rarity or confined to particular areas, how can doctors become more friendly and able to put people at ease? This is a great app just waiting for people to develop some uses. Far more fun to engage with than the traditional dry crusts of the questions and answer surveys that are currently doing the rounds.

The finale of the event was to decide which of the streams would receive seed funding raised through the day’s ticket sales to pursue further research. For a change of scene we convened to the Modern London section of the museum with Mary Quant, Doctor Martins and a bit of The Savoy for the vote. The question raised by The Museum Of Lies stream, which I did not attend, won the election with the question ‘How can lies and curating lies shift thinking in the boardroom?’ On that note we repaired to the London Wall Kitchen & Bar for a civilised couple of glasses and some more of that never ending stuff called conversation.

Anne K. Scott is an imagination technologist, her work to teach, facilitate and deliver innovation for individuals and business. She is the creator of FindYourMojo a FREE iPHone productivity app. If you are interested in what intuitive coaching can do for you or your business please do contact me. I support clients all over the world.

Deeply immersed in meeting my genius this weekend I missed the Final of BBC’s The Voice UK talent show. I have been fascinated by this series, by the emergence of amazing talent in a competition that is far more about camaraderie, intimacy, friendship, collaboration, humour and good wholesome human beings than competition. I had voted for all four of the finalists in the previous round so had no clear favourite to win. Each of the finalists had touched me in a different way. By the time I got to watch the programme this morning the judging was complete and Jermain Jackman declared as the winner. I was curious to see if I would concur with the outcome.

Jermain’s version of Wrecking Ball was a full on extravaganza followed by a hilarious moment when Will.I.Am, Jermain’s mentor on the show takes a phone call on his wrist phone from Cheryl Cole of Girls Aloud and X Factor UK fame! But it was his duet Pure Imagination from Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory with the intergalactic Will that blew me away. I had just a weekend delving into a world of imagination to meet my genius, a place that can only be accessed once you suspend the need to know and go into in-no-sense. As the song says ‘wanta change the world? For my money this was way beyond winning The Voice this was a message about changing the world. Which is why it is not surprise that Will’s first words to Jermain after he was announced the winner was ‘You have a lot of work to do’. Jermain is in the end result of being the first singing black prime minister of Great Britian. I think he has nailed the ‘singing’ bit and if he harnesses his imagination there is no stopping him.

Hold your breath
Make a wish
Count to three
Come with me
And you’ll be
In a world of
Pure imagination
Take a look
And you’ll see
Into your imagination

We’ll begin
With a spin
Traveling in
The world of my creation
What we’ll see
Will defy
Explanation

If you want to view paradise
Simply look around and view it
Anything you want to, do it
Wanta change the world?
There’s nothing
To it

There is no
Life I know
To compare with
Pure imagination
Living there
You’ll be free
If you truly wish to be

100 Days of Awe is a playful project I set up to bring my attention to awe in my daily life. I see awe as wonder, a mixture of amazement and respect. I expect the experience of awe to be about perception shifting awareness and that demands a reframing of some sort. I am excited to see what will awe me on this journey. Today I am in Brixton, London, UK.

Anne K. Scott is an imagination technologist, her work to teach, facilitate and deliver innovation for individuals and business. She is the creator of FindYourMojo a FREE iPHone productivity app. If you are interested in what intuitive coaching can do for you please do contact me. I support clients all over the world.

“Everyone is born a genius, but the process of living de-geniuses them.” ~ Richard Buckminster Fuller

My apologies I should have posted this sooner. You may have plans already for this weekend and you may not be in London but if you are inclined to invest in yourself at all please read on. I asked myself at 3am this morning why I didnt think to write a blog post about William’s Whitecloud’s Meet Your Genius weekend sooner, after all I am on the event team. I can tell you I have learned my lesson.

You may not have heard of William Whitecloud but he is the author of the best selling book The Magician’s Way and a presenter and teacher of the premises of Natural Success. Another personal development model I hear you say well not so fast. I came across William’s work about 5 years ago and spent a number of year’s studying with a protege of his learning that The Magician’s Way is not just an entertaining story but it contains real practical tools for powerful creating and changing our realities. I have moved into a life where my love to work, travel and write are becoming beautifully intertwined. A big change from intense periods of long hours and hard living in the world of ‘business transformation’ interspered with flaccid, aimless wanderings as an increasingly aged back packer, in the penduleum swing of money but time and time but no money. In the past 12 months that William has been coming to the UK. I have studied with him and his wife, Christian, is my coach. You may ask is my learning not over? And I am pleased to report no it is not! This is like peeling away the layers of the onion. Each time I attend a workshop I get a new level of learning and that is manifest as a higher level of mastery and creativity in my life with tangible end results.

I woke up on fire with enthusiasm at 3am because I met William yesterday. He is in the UK to run a two day workshop in London this weekend and a more advanced training later on next week. He continues to create magic in his own life and is currently writing the screen play for his book The Magician’s Way. Despite being jet lagged he was alive with the excitement of this next level of creation in his life; up for being a beginner in the area of screen writing because it will transforms a great book into a multi-dimensional story that will has the power to show everyone how to wield magic in their lives. I had a visceral experience of how William embodies the work he teaches, how he walks the talk. And that is what compelled me to create this ‘johnny-come-lately’ blog.

So there is still time to buy tickets to Meet YOUR Genius – regular tickets are £97, a VIP package which includes 2 tickests is £147 – so £73.50 each plus the Kindle version of both of William’s books. I want to throw something else into the mix. If you are reading this and you have not heard about William you only have my recommendation to go on and you may not know me either! So I am offering anyone who signs up from this post a FREE 1 hour coaching session with me over Skype at a time that is convenient to you. If you dont register on the link but turn up tomorrow morning at 8.30am to register please introduce yourself to me, as I am on the team for the event, and we can take it from there.

After 30 years in the world of Information Technology I like to think I have evolved into being an an Imagination Technologist using the tools of intuition to live my life and support others discover their intuitive genius to enrich their realities and blending the past with the present to create tools like my app toolbox SatNav4TheSoul.

For more information on the work that I do check out Working Together. If you cant come along to the weekend but you are curious please drop me a line.

Augment is derived from the old French verb augmenter to increase , make bigger, enlarge, make richer. And reality we all know what that is about. It is our experience in the here and now or as the dictionaries put it something that exists as opposed to imagined.

So to augment reality – is to enlarge, increase, enrich our existence what we are experiencing right now. I love the concept, I believe in the concept to the extent that I see it as the only way of being and living. Who wouldnt want an augmented reality? One that improves on what already is.

Cut to the world of technology where all the good stuff is and augmented reality becomes something else. It acquires a capital A, a capital R and a hint of a swagger. In this world augmented reality is a shadow of its potential; truthfully it is about mediated reality where technology becomes a foil to enhance one’s current perception of reality. Now don’t get me wrong; I love technology. I spent 30 years working as a techie, I am in awe of its ability to keep us connected, create new connections, allow us to work from home, facilitiate global collaborations and keep delivering yet more gorgeous, shiny trinkets. I design apps for God’s sake. What is there not to love about technology! Well yes. It is the danger of arrogance, the blinding light of brilliance, when technology becoming our everything and we throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Augemented Reality is a loud, cocky imposter. True augmented reality is a function of imagination; everything we experience is from our imagination, the technology that we have is from someone’s imagination. Let us not forget that imagination is a tool that we all have access to. It is there for the taking, it is free, it open source, we came bundled with it. Sadly someone forgot to put that in our manual, in the education system, in fact it is actively deprogrammed in many educational environments. Too basic for the sophisticates. Let us not forget that we all have access to imagination, we just need to believe, take the time to reconnect with the pathway of intuition that takes us there and take follow through action that comes from our individual ability to join the dots and create connections that have never been thought of before.

Anne K. Scott is an Imagination Technologist who uses the tools of intuition to live her life and support others discover their intuitive uniqueness to enrich their realities. She also loves technology for what it brings to the party e.g. her SatNav4TheSoul tool box and Google’s Picasa which enhanced the ‘V’ on her computer keypad to look like a heart.

For more information on the work that Anne does check out Coaching or drop me a line: